‘In terms of specific content this is a rich resource and the best way of conveying this richness is to direct the reader to the authors page. Important work by poets whose poetry continues to deserve to be better known is, of course, the focus of the archive. For this librarian and reader stand out voices include those of Geraldine Monk whose readings capture the depth and magic that her Lancastrian intonation adds to the experience of her poetry, and also Maggie O’Sullivan whose readings illuminate her polyphonic written texts. The archive represents several generations of poets, including newer voices such as Amy De’Ath and Holly Pester, as well as those with an established body of work. As well as providing a good sample of readings, each poet’s page offers a bibliography and, often, a sample poetic text. The archive is an ongoing project with new material regularly being added to the resource. Whilst there is a little inconsistency in the material presented in each poet’s page, this is mitigated by the overall value of the collection as a whole. To some extent the archive provides an opening to further information about experimental and innovative poetries, through the links on the poet’s pages and also through the tabs for Readings, What’s New and other Resources available elsewhere on the web. It addresses a serious imbalance in the way that poetry is represented in the UK and provides an excellent shop-window into British “experimental” poetics for readers elsewhere. The under-representation of this work, and the hinted-at reasons for this as discussed in the About section of the resource combine to form a compelling argument for why libraries should consider adding Archive of the Now to their collections. It is an essential resource for any academic library supporting creative writing and contemporary poetry courses, and an essential resource for any public library seeking to provide a balanced collection of contemporary English Iiterature resources.’

Linda Kemp, from a review of the Archive of the Now in Reference Reviews 27.2 (2013): 22-27.